Test 1 Flashcards
1
Q
psychology
A
the scientific study of the mind, brain and behavior
2
Q
levels of analysis
A
rungs on a ladder of analysis, with lower levels tied most closely to biological influences and higher levels tied most closely to social influences
3
Q
multiply determined
A
caused by many factors
4
Q
individual differences
A
variations among people in their thinking, emotion, personality and behavior
5
Q
naive realism
A
belief that we see the world precisely as it is
6
Q
confirmation bias
A
tendency to seek out evidence that supports our hypotheses and deny, dismiss or distort evidence that contradicts them
7
Q
belief perseverance
A
tendency to stick to our initial beliefs even when evidence contradicts them
8
Q
metaphysical claim
A
assertion about the world that is not testable
9
Q
ad hoc immunizing hypothesis
A
escape hatch or loophole that defenders of a theory use to protect their theory from falsification
10
Q
patternicity
A
the tendency to detect meaningful patterns in random stimuli
11
Q
emotional reasoning fallacy
A
using our emotions as guides for evalutating the validity of a claim
12
Q
bandwagon fallacy
A
error of assuming that a claim is correct just because many people believe it
13
Q
not me fallacy
A
error of believing that we’re immune from errors in thinking that afflict other people
14
Q
terror management theory
A
theory proposing that our awareness of our death leaves us with an underlying sense of terror with which we cope by adopting reassuring cultural worldviews
15
Q
correlation-fallacy theory
A
error of assuming that because one thing is associated with another, it must be cause the other
16
Q
replicability
A
when a study’s findings are able to be duplicated
17
Q
Occam’s Razor
A
if two explanations account equally well for a phenomenon, we should generally select the more parsimonious one
18
Q
introspection
A
method by which trained observers carefully reflect and report on their mental experience
19
Q
five major theoretical perspectives
A
structuralism, functionalism, behaviorism, cognitivism, psychoanalysis
20
Q
structuralism
A
Edward Bradford Titchener
aimed to identify the basic elements of psychological experience
21
Q
functionalism
A
William James
understand the adaptive purposes oh psychological characteristics (psychology meets Darwinism)
22
Q
behaviorism
A
John B. Watson
uncovering the general laws of learning by looking at observable behavior
23
Q
cognitivism
A
Jean Piaget
mental process involved in different aspects of thinking
24
Q
psychoanalysis
A
Sigmund Freud
study that focuses on internal psychological processes of which we’re unaware
25
free-will determinism debate
what extent are our behaviors freely selected rather than caused by factors outside our control?
26
basic research
research examining how the mind works
27
applied research
research examining how we can use basic research to solve real-world problems
28
intuitive thinking
brain is on auto pilot
29
analytical thinking
overrides intuitive thinking and allows us to see reason
30
heuristic
mental shortcut or rule of thumb that helps us to streamline our thinking and make sense of our world
31
naturalistic observation
watching participants in real world settings without trying to manipulate the situation
32
advantages to naturalistic observation
high in external validity
33
external validity
extent to which we can generate findings to real-world settings
34
disadvantages to naturalistic observation
doesnt allow to infer causation
| low in internal validity
35
key to correct surverys
random selection
36
interrater reliability
the extent to which different people who conduct an interview agree on the characteristics they're measuring
37
validity
the extent to which a measure assesses what it purports to measure
38
response sets
tendencies to distort their answers to questions, often in a way that paints them in a positive light
39
malingering
the tendency to make ourselves appear psychologically disturbed with the aim of achieving a clear-cut personal goal
40
experiment
random assignment of participants to conditions
| manipulation of an independent variable
41
independent variable
variable that the experimenter manipulates
42
dependent variable
variable that an experimenter measures to see whether the manipulation has an effect
43
placebo effect
improvement resulting from the mere expectation of improvement
44
nocebo effect
harm resulting from the expectation of harm
45
experimenter expectancy effect
phenomenon in which researchers hypotheses lead them to unintentionally bias the outcome of a study
46
double-blind
when neither researchers nor participants are aware of who's in the experimental or control group
47
demand characteristics
cues that participants pick up from a study that allow them to generate guesses regarding the researcher's hypotheses
48
central tendency
measure of the "central" scores in a data set, or where the group tends to cluster
49
interential statistics
mathematical methods that allow us to determine whether we can generalize findings from our sample to the full population
50
neurons
nerve cells specialized for communication
51
cell body
(soma) central region of the neuron.
| manufactures new cell components, which consist of small and large molecules
52
dendrites
portion of neuron that receive signals
53
axon
portion of neuron that sends signals
54
synaptic vesicles
travel the length of the axon to the axon terminal and contains neurotransmitters
55
neutrotransmitter
chemical messenger specialized for communication from neuron to neuron
56
synapse
tiny fluid filled space between neurons through which neurotransmitters travel
57
synaptic cleft
gap into which neurotransmitters are released from the axon terminal
58
glial cell
cells that play a role in the formation of myelin and the blood-brain barrier, responds to injury, removes debris and enhances learning and memory
59
astrocytes
most abundant glial cells that communicate closely with neurons
60
myelin sheath
glial cells wrapped around the axons that act as insulators of the neuron's signals
61
basis of all electrical responses
depends on an uneven distribution of charged particles across the membrane surrounding the neuron
62
action potential
eletrical impulse that travel down the axon triggering the release of neurotransmitters
63
absolute refractory period
time during which another action potential is impossible
64
reuptake
means of recycling neurotransmitters
65
neurotransmitters
glutamate, GABA, Acetylcholine, norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin, anandamide, endorphins
66
Glutamate
rapidly excites neurons, increasing the odds that they'll talk with the other neurons.
associated with learning and memory
67
GABA
inhibits neurons, dampening neural activity
learning, memory and sleep
68
Acetylcholine
arousal, selective attention, sleep and memory
69
Monoamines
norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin
| only contain one amino acid
70
anadamide
plays a role in eating, motivation, memory and sleep
| binds to the same receptors as THC
71
neuropeptides
short string of amino acids in the nervous system
| -endorphines are an example
72
plasticity
the nervous system's ability to change
73
changes in neuron network
1. growth-dendrites and axons
2. synaptogenesis- formation of new synapses
3. pruning- death of neurons and retraction of axons
4. myelination- insulation of axons
74
neurogenesis
creation of new neurons in the adult brain
75
central nervous system
brain and spinal chord
76
peripheral nervous system
nerves in the body that extend outside the central nervous system
77
cerebral cortex
analyzes sensory information, including reasoning and language. Concious functions
78
corpus callosum
large band of fibers connecting the two cerebral hemispheres
79
frontal lobes
motor function, language and memory
| -oversee and organize most other brain functions (executive functioning)
80
central sulcus
separates the frontal lobe from the rest of the cortex
81
prefrontal cortex
part of frontal lobe responsible for thinking, planning and language
- mood, personality and self-awareness
- Phineas Gage story
82
parietal lobe
upper middle part of the cerebral cortex lying behind the frontal lobe that is specialized for touch and perception
83
temporal lobe
lower part of cerebral cortex that plays roles in hearing, understanding language and memory
84
Wernicke's area
part of temporal lobe involved in understanding speech
85
occipital lobe
back part of cerebral cortex specialized for vision
86
primary sensory cortex
regions of the cerebral cortex that initially process information from the senses
87
association cortex
regions of the cerebral cortex that integrate simpler functions to perform more complex functions
88
basal ganglia
structures buried deep inside the cortex that help to control movement
-damage contributes to Parkinson's disease
89
limbic system
emotional center of brain that also plays roles in smell, motivation and memory
90
4 areas of limbic system
thalamus, hypothalamus, amygdala, hippocampus
91
thalamus
gateway from the sense organs to the primary sensory cortex
92
hypothalamus
part of brain responsible for maintaining a constant internal state
93
amygdala
part of limbic system that playy key roles in fear, excitement and arousal
94
hippocampus
part of brain that plays role in spatial reasoning
95
cerebellum
brain structure responsible for our sense of balance
| -executive memory, spatial and linguistic abilities
96
brain stem
part of the brain between spinal cord and cerebral cortex that contains the midbrain, pons and medulla
97
midbrain
part of the brain stem that contributes to movement, tracking of visual stimuli and reflexes triggered by sound
98
reticular activatin system
connects with the forebrain and cerebral cortex; plays a role in arousal
99
hindbrain
region below medulla that contains cerebellum, pons and medulla
100
pons
part of brain stem that connects to the cortex with the cerebellum
101
medulla
part of brain stem involved in basic functions, such as heartbeat and breathing
102
spinal cord
thick buckle of nerves that conveys signals between brain and body
103
somatic nervous system
part of the nervous system that conveys information between the CNS and the body, controlling and coordinating voluntary movement
104
autonomic nervous system ( 2 divisions)
part of nervous system controlling the involuntary actions of our internal organs and glands, which (along with the limbic system) participates in emotion regulation.
105
sympathetic nervous system
division of the autonomic nervous system engaged during a crisis or after actions requiring fight or flight
106
pituitary gland
master gland that, under control of the hypothalamus, directs the other glands of the body
107
classical conditioning
form of learning in which animals come to respond to a previously neutral stimulus that had been paired with another stimulus that elicits an automatic response
108
unconditioned stimulus (UCS)
stimulus that elicits an automatic response
109
unconditioned response
automatic response to a non neutral stimulus that does not need to be learned
110
conditioned response
response previously associated with a non-neutral stimulus that is elicited by a neutral stimulus through conditioning
111
conditioned stimulus
initially neutral stimulus that comes to elicit a response due to association with an unconditioned stimulus
112
operant conditioning
learning controlled by the consequences of the organism's behavior
113
positive reinforcement
presentation of a stimulus that strengthens the probability of the behavior
114
negative reinforcement
removal of a stimulus that strengthens the probability of the behavior
115
discriminative stimulus
stimulus that signals the presence of reinforcement
116
fixed ratio schedule
pattern in which we provide reinforcement following a regular number of responses
117
variable ratio
pattern in which we provide reinforcement after a specific number of responses on average, with the number varying randomly
118
fixed interval
pattern in which provide reinforcement for producing the response at least once following a specified time interval
119
variable interval
pattern in which we provide reinforcement for producing the response at least once during an average time interval, with the interval varying randomly
120
cognitive map
mental representation of how a physical space is organized
121
observational learning
learning by watching others
122
drive reduction theory
theory proposing that certain drives, like hunger, thirst and sexual frustration, motivate us to act in ways that minimize aversive states
123
Yerkes-Dodson law
inverted U shaped relation between arousal on the one hand and mood are performance on the other
124
hierarchy of needs
1. physiological needs
2. safety needs
3. belonging needs
4. esteem needs
5. self-actualization
125
leptin
signals the hypothalamus and brain stem to reduce appetite and increase amount of energy used
